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Council to agree new 30-year contract with ALMO
An East Midlands council is set to approve a new partnership agreement with its ALMO, extending the organisation’s life for up to 30 years.
Nottingham City Council’s executive board is expected to agree the new contract for the management of its 25,800 homes with Nottingham City Homes (NCH) at a meeting tomorrow.
The current 10-year agreement is not set to expire until 2021.
However, a council officer’s report said that the current arrangement is “outdated and does not reflect the way in which the relationship between the council and NCH has evolved over the past eight years” or the ALMO’s “increased range of activities” such as development.
It added that the new agreement “is intended to put tenants fully at the heart of services”, with a greater emphasis on accountability following last year’s Social Housing Green Paper.
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The council has vowed to include “service-level agreements” in the new contract to allow the council to monitor how NCH is performing in different areas.
NCH has managed Nottingham’s council housing stock since 2005 – increasing overall tenant satisfaction in that time from 61% to 90%.
It built 185 new homes in 2017/18 and won Landlord of the Year at the UK Housing Awards.
If approved, the new agreement will run for up to 30 years, with reviews every three years.
Councils are required to set out 30-year business plans for their Housing Revenue Accounts.
Nick Murphy, chief executive of NCH, said: “The proposed partnership agreement with Nottingham City Council is important because it helps us to deliver our vision of providing homes and places where people want to live.”
“With the council’s support we are determined to build more affordable housing for people on our waiting list and we will continue to put tenants at the heart of what we do.”
Linda Woodings, portfolio holder for planning and housing at Nottingham City Council, said: “This agreement shows the commitment both the city council and NCH have to working in partnership to provide great housing and repairs services for city council tenants, and providing good-quality homes and successful communities where people want to live.
“The council will continue to support Nottingham City Homes in being the leader in housing management in the city, by providing high-quality housing services for its tenants.”
ALMOs closed with management going back to the council
| Return date | ALMO |
|---|---|
| Jul-10 | People 1st Slough |
| Nov-10 | Hillingdon Homes |
| Mar-11 | Ealing Homes |
| Mar-11 | H&F Homes (Hammersmith & Fulham) |
| Mar-11 | Newham Homes |
| Jul-11 | 2010 Rotherham |
| Jul-11 | St George's Community Housing (Basildon) |
| Nov-11 | Stevenage Homes |
| Mar-12 | Homes for Islington |
| Jul-12 | Redbridge Homes |
| Oct-12 | Homes in Havering |
| Dec-12 | Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing |
| Jan-13 | Sandwell Homes |
| Mar-13 | United Residents Housing (Lambeth) |
| Apr-13 | Sheffield Homes |
| Oct-13 | Aire Valley Homes Leeds |
| Oct-13 | East North East Homes Leeds |
| Oct-13 | West North West Homes Leeds |
| Dec-14 | Hounslow Homes |
| Mar-15 | Enfield Homes |
| Jun-15 | Lambeth Living |
| Dec-15 | Ascham Homes (Waltham Forest) |
| Dec-15 | Homes for Northumberland |
| Mar-16 | Hackney Homes |
| Dec-16 | Ashfield Homes |
| Mar-17 | Wigan and Leigh Housing |
| Mar-17 | Welwyn Hatfield Community Housing Trust |
| Oct-17 | Brent Housing Partnership |
| Mar-18 | K&CTMO |
| Oct-18 | A1 Bassetlaw |
| Dec-18 | CityWest Homes |
ALMOs converted into stock transfer associations
| Transfer date | ALMO |
|---|---|
| Nov-10 | Golden Gates Housing (Warrington) |
| Dec-10 | Tristar Homes (Stockton on Tees) |
| Jan-11 | First Choice Homes Oldham |
| Mar-11 | Bolton at Home |
| Mar-12 | Rochdale Boroughwide Housing |
| Mar-12 | South Lakes Housing (South Lakeland) |
| Mar-15 | Dale and Valley Homes |
| Mar-15 | Gloucester City Homes |
| Mar-15 | Salix Homes |
What is an ALMO?
- An ALMO – which stands for arm’s-length management organisation – is a company created to take on the management responsibilities for a council that owns social housing. The creation of ALMOs was encouraged by the ‘ALMO programme’ of the 2000s which offered funding towards achieving the Decent Homes Standard to councils that set up ALMOs.
- However in recent years councils have increasingly looked to take ALMOs back in house, with 69 in 2009 falling to 31 in 2019.
- Councils have argued that they will make efficiency savings and improve services by delivering the service directly, rather than relying on an ALMO.
